CVE DATABASE / CVE-2017-5638
CVE-2017-5638
Apache Struts Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Confirmed exploited in the wild. Added 2021-11-03.
Federal remediation due 2022-05-03.
Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Summary
The Jakarta Multipart parser in Apache Struts 2 2.3.x before 2.3.32 and 2.5.x before 2.5.10.1 has incorrect exception handling and error-message generation during file-upload attempts, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted Content-Type, Content-Disposition, or Content-Length HTTP header, as exploited in the wild in March 2017 with a Content-Type header containing a #cmd= string.
CVSS 3.1 breakdown
| Base score | 9.8 (CRITICAL) |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| Attack vector | NETWORK |
| Attack complexity | LOW |
| Privileges required | NONE |
| User interaction | NONE |
| Scope | UNCHANGED |
| Confidentiality | HIGH |
| Integrity | HIGH |
| Availability | HIGH |
Weakness type (CWE)
Affected products
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Our coverage
References
- http://blog.talosintelligence.com/2017/03/apache-0-day-exploited.html
- http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/cve-2017-5638-apache-struts-vulnerability-remote-code-execution/
- http://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/alert/ARUBA-PSA-2017-002.txt
- http://www.eweek.com/security/apache-struts-vulnerability-under-attack.html
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujul2017-3236622.html
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/96729
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037973
- https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/03/critical-vulnerability-under-massive-attack-imperils-high-impact-sites/
- https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/WW/S2-045
- https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/WW/S2-046
- https://exploit-db.com/exploits/41570
- https://git1-us-west.apache.org/repos/asf?p=struts.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=352306493971e7d5a756d61780d57a76eb1f519a
- https://git1-us-west.apache.org/repos/asf?p=struts.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=6b8272ce47160036ed120a48345d9aa884477228
- https://github.com/mazen160/struts-pwn
- https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/issues/8064
Data: NIST NVD + CISA KEV. NVD last modified 2026-04-21. Always verify against the vendor advisory before acting.